An electric vehicle (EV) was involved in a fire while charging and the blaze spread to a house in Khon Kaen province on Tuesday morning 16 June 2026, causing extensive damage and forcing four residents to flee for safety.

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The fire broke out at about 6am at house number 9/2109 in tambon Muang Kao, Muang district, Khon Kaen. Firefighters from Khon Kaen Municipality and Muang Kao Municipality responded to the scene and spent more than an hour bringing the fire under control.

Authorities found a badly damaged white BYD Dolphin electric car, registration number from Khon Kaen, parked in the driveway. The vehicle had been charging when the fire started. Flames rapidly spread from the car to the house, causing severe damage to both the vehicle and the property.

Homeowner Setthaphat Kaewfainok, 46, said he had parked the electric vehicle at the house and connected it to a charging unit outside the property before the incident. He later heard sounds resembling a fire breaking out and alerted other occupants.

The four people inside the house rushed outside and discovered the vehicle engulfed in flames. Mr Setthaphat contacted emergency services while all four residents evacuated as the fire spread quickly and consumed much of the building.

Fire crews worked for more than an hour to extinguish the blaze, using water hose-lines. By the time the fire was brought under control, the house had suffered severely damageand the BYD Dolphin had been destroyed.

Pictures courtesy of Daily News

The incident follows growing attention on electric vehicle fire safety, particularly in cases involving vehicles connected to charging equipment. However, authorities have not yet determined the cause of the Khon Kaen fire.

Daily News reported that police and forensic investigators are examining the scene to establish the origin of the blaze and whether it began in the vehicle, charging equipment or another source. No injuries were reported.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 17 June 2026

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Some of AN's EV fanboy's sphincter, just got a little tighter.

Buy Chinese, pay the price.

Your ICE car is a dozen times more likely to catch fire and over a hundred times more likely if it’s one of those hybrids.

Hopefully they'll actually report what happen, if, they ever figure it out, not that I even care ...

... "authorities have not yet determined the cause of the Khon Kaen fire." ...

BYD = Buy Your Doom

I’m glad I’ve got a hybrid from a reputable European brand – no, we won’t be naming names.

Good to see the hazard lights were working ...

Doesn't look like a typical battery fire though.

3 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

I’m glad I’ve got a hybrid from a reputable European brand – no, we won’t be naming names.

Never heard about any hybrid Toyota e.g. Cross, Prius, Yaris, catching fire as hybrids are usually not rechargeable - only Plug In Hybrid or Full Electric

17 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

Good to see the hazard lights were working ...

Doesn't look like a typical battery fire though.

Looking at the video, the fire seems to originate from the charger, the fire is at the front of the car, not underneath, where the battery is located. Likely less a problem with the EV, more to do with shoddy wiring.

29 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

I’m glad I’ve got a hybrid from a reputable European brand – no, we won’t be naming names.

Our condo has banned Volvo cars from parking on premises due to risk of fire. See them lined up in the small street near the condo... Volvo, of all brands, one that was always centred around safety...

26 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Your ICE car is a dozen times more likely to catch fire and over a hundred times more likely if it’s one of those hybrids.

Then let me stir the pot. An ICE car can catch fire if involved in a crash, from bad maintenance, or possibly while charging a battery.

An EV can catch fire from the heat generated while charging, which at a guess would be the result of a faulty battery? Or possibly by the wrong kind of charger being used?

Any other suggestions?

UPDATE

BYD Says Dolphin Fire in Khon Kaen Linked to External Power System

Case closed.

EV did not start the fire.

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

connected it to a charging unit outside the property

The EV looks parked inside the carport attached to the home property.

Might it be that the EV power connection was outside the property, ie., an illegal connection to a municipal power source? In that case the EV power connection may suffer electrical shortage leading to a fire.

41 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Then let me stir the pot. An ICE car can catch fire if involved in a crash, from bad maintenance, or possibly while charging a battery.

An EV can catch fire from the heat generated while charging, which at a guess would be the result of a faulty battery? Or possibly by the wrong kind of charger being used?

Any other suggestions?

The major causes of fires in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles (gasoline or diesel cars) are primarily mechanical failures/malfunctions, electrical issues, and fuel system problems, often linked to poor maintenance or aging vehicles.

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Your ICE car is a dozen times more likely to catch fire and over a hundred times more likely if it’s one of those hybrids.

You’re absolutely correct. ICE vehicles are 60 times more likely to catch fire.

ICE fires take approximately 1000 gallons of water while most EV fires take approximately 25,000 gallons.

Having worked Li-Ion batteries for use on aircraft for several years, it was found that when batteries, such as those used in EVs, catch fire, water is used to cool the fire vice extinguish the fire. Once they light off, they burn until they’re done.

I’m not bashing EVs, as an electrical engineer, I find them interesting and evolving!

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Your ICE car is a dozen times more likely to catch fire and over a hundred times more likely if it’s one of those hybrids.

If it is as you say, why don't we see reports of them? Diesel is the least likely to go on fire.

23 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

If it is as you say, why don't we see reports of them? Diesel is the least likely to go on fire.

It is as I say, you don’t see reports of them because it’s not newsworthy, it happens too often, nobody’s interested

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

It is as I say, you don’t see reports of them because it’s not newsworthy, it happens too often, nobody’s interested

I assume you are not referring to diesel vehicles

I am referring to internal combustion engine vehicles, I don’t differentiate between petrol diesel NGV LPG

5 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

I assume you are not referring to diesel vehicles

Diesel vehicle will burn just as well as a petrol vehicle.

21 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

If it is as you say, why don't we see reports of them? Diesel is the least likely to go on fire.

Comparison of fire incidents per 100,000 vehicles by propulsion type based on 2023–2025 data.

https://recharged.com/articles/ev-fire-risk-statistics-vs-gas-car/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Why do hybrids fare so badly? Because they combine all the failure modes. They carry a flammable liquid fuel system, high‑voltage battery pack, dual cooling systems, and more complex wiring harnesses. Every additional subsystem is another way things can go wrong.

The first recorded vehicle fire was in 1771 in a prototype steam power vehicle. There was over a million vehicle fires worldwide in 2025.

EV fires are currently relevant in Thai media because of the questions asked of Volvo cars by the Thai government.

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Diesel vehicle will burn just as well as a petrol vehicle.

But to be fair- more economically…. 😜

In latest developments BYD acronym has been updated to "BURN YOUR DREAMS " 🔥

3 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

I am referring to internal combustion engine vehicles, I don’t differentiate between petrol diesel NGV LPG

Petrol is more likely than diesel

My money is on Somchai's, DIY wiring skills.

11 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Our condo has banned Volvo cars from parking on premises due to risk of fire. See them lined up in the small street near the condo... Volvo, of all brands, one that was always centred around safety...

I don’t own a Volvo, but it does worry me in general, my car is parked next to my house in a carport, which also houses a double set of batteries, each with a capacity of 260 Ah. As it happens, I’m in the process of applying for a new fire and home contents insurance policy today, and all these items have now been listed in the insurer’s questionnaire.

34 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

which also houses a double set of batteries, each with a capacity of 260 Ah

How many volts and what's the chemistry? Lifepo4 doesn't seem to have the same problems other lithium batteries have. I'm sitting atop 480ah/12v right now and haven't had a problem (touch wood) and my electrical skills make Somchai look like a master electrician.

EVs make perfect sense in Thailand, especially when combined with a large solar array and a battery bank for the house.

8 hours ago, flaming dragon said:

EVs make perfect sense in Thailand, especially when combined with a large solar array and a battery bank for the house.

We’re coming to the end of a 4,000km road trip in Thailand. Almost every PTT station has a few chargers, no need to plan your charging at all.